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gastrulae

 - 4 dictionary results

gas⋅tru⋅la

  [gas-troo-luh]
Use gastrulae in a Sentence
–noun, plural -las, -lae  [-lee] . Embryology.
a metazoan embryo in an early state of germ layer formation following the blastula stage, consisting of a cuplike body of two layers of cells, the ectoderm and endoderm, enclosing a central cavity, or archenteron, that opens to the outside by the blastopore: in most animals progressing to the formation of a third cell layer, the mesoderm.
Origin:
1875–80; < NL; see gastro-, -ule

Related forms:
gas⋅tru⋅lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gas·tru·la   (gās'trə-lə)   
n.   pl. gas·tru·las or gas·tru·lae (-lē')
An embryo at the stage following the blastula, consisting of a hollow, two-layered sac of ectoderm and endoderm surrounding an archenteron that communicates with the exterior through the blastopore.

[New Latin : Greek gastēr, gastr-, belly + Latin -ula, feminine diminutive suff.]
gas'tru·lar (-lər) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: gas·tru·la
Pronunciation: 'gas-tr&-l&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural gas·tru·las or gas·tru·lae /-"lE, -"lI/
: an early metazoan embryo in which the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm are established either by invagination of the blastula (asin fish and amphibians) to form a multilayered cellular cup with a blastopore opening into the archenteron or (as in reptiles, birds, and mammals) by differentiation of the upper layer of theblastodisc into the ectoderm and the lower layer into the endoderm and by the inward migration of cells through the primitive streak to form the mesoderm —compare MORULA —gas·tru·lar /-l&r/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

gastrula gas·tru·la (gās'trə-lə)
n. pl. gas·tru·las or gas·tru·lae (-lē')
An embryo at the stage following the blastula, consisting of a hollow, two-layered sac of ectoderm and endoderm surrounding an archenteron that communicates with the exterior through the blastopore.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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